Wednesday, December 29, 2004
NICE SOURCE FOR WORD DEFINITION
Eddie Russell/Blaze Magazine Online is the last place I would normally look for information on understanding the varities of mysticism that are coming at us like baseballs in a batting cage. Russell is the leader of a Catholic Charismatic Community in Australia; and if you read my blog, you know what I think of Charismatic/Pentecostal activity.
Nevertheless, his article giving the definition of words associated with mystical practices in various religions highlights the dangers in pursuing them. If you are drawn to pursuing mystical techniques, "What's in a Word" is a good read. This is the passage that drew me to the article:
Let us take the word of the popular author, George A. Maloney S.J. from his book "Inward Stillness."
"Many today are discovering the healing power of deep, transcendental prayer, found in the prayer disciplines of the Far Eastern Religions, such as Hinduism, Zen Buddhism, and the modernised version of Transcendental Meditation [TM] as taught by Mahirishi Mahesh Yogi. Sufism, Eastern Christian Hesychasm, and Mind Control Techniques have their devotees...
Such techniques are not prayer in the Christian sense... To pass beyond the superficial levels of our own controlled consciousness in order to pass into the innermost core of our being, great discipline is required. But as one does pass through layers of psychic experiences, danger zones rear up... Repressed material that has been drowned in the unconscious can rise threateningly to disturb the one in prayer. Sexual feelings can arise, even influencing our whole body and bringing us close to move over to see strange faces of the demonic that flash now brilliantly, now darkly from within."
